Deconstructing the History of the Battle of McPherson’s Ridge: Myths and Legends of the Twenty-Sixth North Carolina on the First Day’s Fight at Gettysburg

Gettysburg Magazine, no. 53 aim and shot Lane in the back of the head from just a few yards away. Lane was the last of thirteen color bearers to be shot that day. Of the 800 men who attacked, only 216 emerged unscathed; Company F suff ered 100 percent casualties in the charge. Several decades aft er the battle, Lane met the man who shot him and embraced McConnell in a stirring moment at the 1903 Gettysburg battlefi eld reunion. Described this way, the battle between the TwentySixth North Carolina and the TwentyFourth Michigan makes for a very dramatic and poignant story. Th e TwentySixth North Carolina— which went on to suff er more losses during the PickettPettigrew charge on July 3 at Gettysburg and in the retreat across the Potomac on July 14— became very proud and protective of its distinction as the regiment that suff ered the greatest loss in any battle during the war. Regimental members claimed upward of 88.5 percent casualties— enduring evidence of extraordinary bravery and sacrifi ce. However, some of the iconic elements of the battle have become so enshrined in legend— largely through continual retelling— that it is diffi cult to know what is actually true about the fi ght. Several key sources used to tell the story have serious problems of authenticity or accuracy yet have largely been accepted as gospel, testament to the fact that historians can show faith in a source if we want to believe the story it tells. Historians have struggled to reconcile some of the disparate accounts of the battle, but the basic story and specifi c details recounted above emerge In the early aft ernoon of July 1, 1863, the TwentySixth North Carolina Regiment, under the leadership of twentyoneyearold Col. Henry King Burgwyn Jr., launched itself into Civil War immortality with its charge into Herbst’s Woods on McPherson’s Ridge against the Iron Brigade, specifically the TwentyFourth Michigan Regiment. With few variations, historians tell the celebrated story of this charge thusly: Th e TwentySixth North Carolina began their attack with 800 men sometime around 3:00 p.m. Th ey crossed three hundred yards of wheat fi elds, pushed into the thick brambles at the edge of Willoughby’s Run, splashed through that shallow creek, and entered the thin woods on the slope of McPherson’s Ridge. Th ey closed to within just a few paces of the TwentyFourth Michigan, suff ering and infl icting enormous casualties along the way. At the height of the charge, Capt. W. W. McCreery of brigade commander J. Johnston Pettigrew’s staff raced up to Burgwyn and relayed a message from Pettigrew: “Tell him his regiment has covered itself with glory today.” Soon aft er uttering these words, McCreery impulsively picked up the fallen regimental battle fl ag and held it aloft for a moment before being killed by a shot to the chest. A few moments later Burgwyn picked up the banner and was mortally wounded as he handed it to another soldier. Lt. Col. John R. Lane then hoisted the fl ag and led the regiment in a fi nal, ultimately successful charge to push the Yankees off McPherson’s Ridge. Just before retreating, Cpl. Charles McConnell of the TwentyFourth Michigan took careful Deconstructing the History of the Battle of McPherson’s Ridge Myths and Legends of the TwentySixth North Carolina on the First Day’s Fight at Gettysburg